U.S. Copts Association

By  Fathia el-Dakhakhni   

The Washington Post has reposted yesterday the article of Dr. Saad Eddin Ibrahim that it had published a year ago under the title: ‘Egypt’s unchecked repression’.

The newspaper said it reposts the article after Ibrahim was sentenced for two years in prison with hard labor for the charge of tarnishing Egypt’s reputation. It said the article clarifies what Mubarak’s regime considers as hostile attack.

Washington Post added that the fact that Mr. Ibrahim faces imprisonment - or worse - if he sets foot in Egypt speaks to the tightening grip of tyranny in that country. It is also a testament to the Bush administration’s failure to hold Mr. Mubarak to his commitment to further freedom and democracy. 

The newspaper pointed out in its comment entitled: ‘Still a fellow dissident? Mubarak continues to hound an advocate for democracy’, that Saad Eddin is still subject to some 20 other legal actions brought against him by allies of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

It indicated that he is accused - among other things - of meeting briefly with President Bush last year after a conference in Prague. It said that Saad Eddin’s conviction on these charges could subject him to death by hanging.

The newspaper criticized the Bush administration for keeping silent to the sentence and only issuing expressions of disappointment as it continues to funnel billions to Egypt, enabling Mr. Mubarak to run an increasingly repressive police state.

It reported that there was a time when President Bush spoke openly and forcefully about his sense of solidarity with Mr. Ibrahim, so much so that the president referred to him as a fellow dissident. It said that only a few years ago he withheld millions of dollars in aid to Egypt until the country released Mr. Ibrahim from unjust incarceration.

The newspaper also said that a strong relationship with Egypt and continuing financial assistance to the country are most likely in the interest of the United States. But the relationship needs not be exclusively with a regime that is on the wrong side of history.

The newspaper called on the United States to support those many Egyptians who believe in reform. At the very least, it should not continue to freely subsidize a regime that abuses its bravest citizens. Or, as Mr. Ibrahim succinctly put it in an interview this week: “Don’t give dictators money to oppress us.”

Ibrahim mentioned in his article reposted by the newspaper that President Mubarak is trying to tighten his grip on power like other autocrats with declining legitimacy. His family is grooming 44-year-old Gamal to succeed his father.